The Dragon and the Doe
by mintly
Summary: A boom echoes through the forest, and who is that man lying unconscious in the middle of it all? Slight romance.


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Notes: Sorry for the horrible title, I couldn't think of a better one... Anyway, I've been seeing a lot of new Grantedshipping fics around. So, I guess I'm adding one! Also, It was really fun writing Lance XD**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Pokémon...**

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**The Dragon and the Doe**

The trees glowed; soft waves of grass shimmered faintly as the gentle breeze danced past. The melodious tinkling of a creek mingled with the sort rustling of the trees and the Pidgey chirping amongst their branches.

Alive and glimmering, the forest sparkled in the spring air as a girl hidden beneath a large straw hat strolled by, humming a cheery tune. She clutched a bulky tackle box with both of her petite hands and her arms were strained with its weight. Despite this, a contented smile played upon her lips. Today she would fish to her heart's content.

Yellow stopped and set down her tackle box by the water's edge, heaving a sigh of relief and stretching her stiff arms. It takes quite a while to walk to this hidden creek from Viridian, after all. She pulled out her trusty fishing rod and, attaching a pokéball to the end, dropped the line into the clear, bubbling stream.

The water rippled but the waters slowly calmed and Yellow watched the bobber slowly move up and down with the currents. She sighed peacefully; there was nothing like fishing to calm her down when she needed it most.

The bobber began to bob more fiercely, but it was not from a bite. In an instant, the entire forest shook as birds flew from their perches screaming and warning one another of coming danger.

_BOOM!_

Yellow whipped around as a thundering explosion tore through the forest. Abandoning her fishing pole on the bank, she dashed into the forest toward the cause of this disaster.

Yellow held her hat in place as the breeze intensified into a full blown wind, the scent of smoke and burning drifting along with it. Her lungs stinging from the stench, Yellow slowed and coughed before entering a clearing where she could see pillars of swirling smoke above the canopy.

Blackened grass greeted her entry. The leaves of the trees encircling the area were charred; their leaves burned and crackling. Yellow gasped at the state of the forest and looked around frantically for the source of all this destruction. The poor forest; it must be screaming.

Yellow's amber eyes widened as they landed on a human, laying unconscious near the center of the clearing. She rushed over, hoping to rescue or at least help the injured person; however, what she found made her gasp.

She knew this man, though he was now covered with countless cuts. His fiery hair was drenched with blood and the oozing liquid dripped from open gashes. His golden eyes opened, a grimace of pain tugging at his lips. He glanced up, and surprise flitted over his features upon seeing a rather bewildered and distressed Yellow. Her eyes as wide as saucers, she stumbled backwards.

"L-Lance! W-what are you doing here?" she stammered.

The man in question simply sneered in response.

"This is a free forest you know," Lance answered sardonically. He tried to stand, wincing as he did; the pain it caused him obvious as he lifted himself from the crimson-dyed grass.

Though Yellow was still in shock, she gasped as she grasped the full extent of Lance's wounds. A large, deep slash ran down his chest, the fabric of his jacket and shirt shredded and stained red along the ripped edges.

Lance followed her gaze and sighed crossly, otherwise seeming unfazed by the huge, bleeding gash. Closing his eyes, he brought a hand to his chest. Yellow glanced around in wonder as the forest fell silent. The trees stopped whispering, the air stilled, and the birds stopped chattering amongst the greenery; all watching as Lance's hand began to glow a light blue above his chest.

The bloody slash began to close up, healing and slowly fading from crimson red to a soft pink. The numerous cuts that once covered his body shrank away, disappearing completely.

Yellow stared, awestruck. She wanted to reach out to be sure this was no illusion, but her natural shyness prevented it and she blushed simply from the thought. Having opened his eyes by this point, Lance started at her quizzically.

"H-how did you do that?" she asked, mostly to mask her embarrassment.

"Same way you do," he said scowling while glancing around the singed clearing, "the powers of the Viridian forest."

"Oh."

Awkwardly, she stood away from the red-headed man, keeping her eyes on the ground and making small circles in the dirt with the toe of her boot.

"What brings you here?" Lance asked, breaking the silence as he dusted off what was left of his tattered shirt nonchalantly.

"W-well, the explosion–"

"Oh yes. Sorry about that," Lance interrupted.

Yellow looked up at him with large, inquisitive eyes. Lance just stared at her mutely before sighing reluctantly and looking up to the bright blue sky.

"There was a bit of an incident. Turns out that the Tyranitar did not want help healing its child…" He lapsed into silence and his own thoughts as he stared into the open air.

Yellow's eyes softened, less frightened now of the enigmatic man standing before her. He cared deeply for the Pokémon of the world, the creatures whose homes and ecosystems were often disrupted by human interference.

"The Larvitar…it had been caught in an Ursaring trap. Another of the vile contraptions invented by humans," Lance explained, but more to himself than Yellow as he frowned angrily at the abhorrent actions of the human species.

Because of this, he did not take notice when the blonde girl walked over and glanced up at his distracted face.

"Why do you hate humans, Lance?" she asked innocently, her head cocked slightly to the side.

Surprised by Yellow's sudden proximity, Lance blinked, but quickly gained his composure and put on an indifferent face. "Those loathsome beings continuously harm and destroy the homes of innocent Pokémon." He balled his fists and gritted his teeth. "They don't deserve such treatment. For all the unjust and unforgivable troubles the Pokémon have gone through, humans should just drop off the face of the planet!" By the end, Lance was practically spitting with rage.

Yellow flinched at the malice in his voice. Lance noticed and turned his head away from her. He hadn't meant to show his true feelings; hadn't meant to truly make her frightened.

Recovering from her shock, the determination in Yellow's eyes visibly hardened. She glared straight at Lance with an infuriated frown on her usually smiling lips.

"Lance, not all humans are the horrible creatures you seem to think of them all as. Most of us are good people who treat Pokémon with respect. Yes, there are those who hurt, torture, or kill them, and those people are horrible, but they are the exceptions, not the rule. You know what's worse, Lance? You're one. You're one of the 'vile beings' you want to rid the world of!" She had just as much, if not more, vigor as Lance had before. Her determination was unbreakable and her shyness had long since disappeared.

Lance lifted his head to her furious words and the strong resolve in her eyes. Sighing inwardly, he realized there was no way to make her stop arguing in this way. He had to change tactics.

His eyes sparked with a sudden mischievousness as Lance leaned down to Yellow's height. Seeing her falter a bit, he flashed a malevolent smile.

"You believe I'm wicked then?" he taunted.

Yellow gulped. She could feel his breathe on her face; see his gangs gleaming dangerously in the sun. Goosebumps ran down her arms and she suddenly felt the urge to run. Instead, she backed up out of his reach, but her fear was practically palpable as Lance stared at her strangely, evilly.

"Ah, so you do," he said mockingly, chuckling at her obvious aversion. Yellow glanced up to deny it, but her full confidence from earlier had faded.

"I'm not afraid of you," she said defiantly, but the effect was completely reversed by the crack in her voice.

Feeling that he had won, Lance moved closer to Yellow with an air of haughtiness. He was closer than before, his face inches from hers. He grinned a cruel smile as his cape blew around her in the wind, trapping her.

"How about now?" he asked, his eyes flashing.

_Yes_, Yellow thought. She was terrified. Terrified of this man with the flaming hair, pointed fangs, and intimidating smile. She trembled with fear as hot breathe blew in her face.

Lance chuckled darkly at her misplaced terror; he was merely toying with her. And as it turns out, this girl made a very good toy.

He tipped her chin back with his hand and Yellow squeaked like a frightened mouse. Lance wondered at this. Was she simply frightened? Or was she just that innocent? He lifted her worn straw hat from her head and her long, golden ponytail fell from its hiding spot.

"Now?" he whispered in her ear. The girl flushed bright red.

Yup, she was just that innocent.

Yellow's mind was muddled; she couldn't think a single coherent thought. She was still terrified of Lance, but for a very different reason. Her legs were frozen to the burnt grass beneath her, and all she could do was look up at Lance with the wide eyes of a frightened animal.

He was so close; barely an inch from her face now. It looked like he was going to k-k-ki–

Suddenly Lance frowned. This was not entertaining anymore. Perhaps he had gone too far. Though the young girl was a delicious shade of red, she was paralyzed with terror, her eyes shut tightly. Stepping away from Yellow, Lance replaced her hat onto her head.

The girl looked up from under its brim to see a dark shadow flit over Lance's face. Sensing her stare, he composed himself and put on another mocking expression.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" he asked with slight agitation, "Leave."

Confusion written all over her face, Yellow backed up slowly. Lance looked at her indifferently and raised an eyebrow. The still baffled girl spun around, glanced over her shoulder once, and ran into the dark cover of the forest.

Shaking his head, Lance stalked off in the opposite direction. "Hmm…That girl was very amusing. I must play with her again sometime," he promised aloud to the silent air. He laughed loudly, knowing he must sound absolutely insane.

Insane? Lance smiled an odd smile, remembering something, and left the charred clearing, his hands in his pockets and his cape billowing out behind him.  


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**So, how was it? Perfect, awesome, stupid?**

**The ending wasn't so great. I kinda rushed it. Oh well, I enjoy reviews :)**


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